Events in History
- Dec 16 Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
Birthdays in History
- Dec 1 William Mahone, American railway engineer and Major General (Confederate Army), born near Courtland, Virginia (d. 1895)
George McClellan
Dec 3 George McClellan, American Major General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1885)
- Dec 5 John Benjamin Sanborn, American lawyer, politician, and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Epsom, New Hampshire (d. 1904)
- Dec 8 Friedrich Siemens, German industrialist, born in Menzendorf, Germany (d. 1904)
- Dec 18 Alexandre Chatrian [wrote as Erckmann-Chatrian jointly with Émile Erckmann ], French writer (L'ami Fritz), born in Abreschviller, France (d. 1890)
- Dec 18 Mercer Brooke John, (Confederate Navy), (d. 1906)
- Dec 22 James Scott Negley, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1901)
- Dec 26 Martinus Nijhoff, Dutch publisher (Van Dale) and founder (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers), born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1894)
- Dec 28 Conrad Busken Huet, Dutch vicar/literary (Country of Rubens)
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists